The Eyes of a Monster
by Sukisoomph
Summary: It seems that if she were to bleed for him- he'd be satisfied. Or at least she hoped he would.
1. Before the Light

Reviews would be lovely.

Disclaimer: Naruto is the property of Kishimoto Masashi.

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_**Chapter One: Before the Light**_

The cool breeze was welcomed into the small room through the open windows, and so was the pale moonlight which reflected off of a framed picture, highlighting the expressions of the youngsters within.

The room's single occupant lay still under a thick cover that masked her subtle breathing. Her peaceful face was rimmed with petal pink hair that was also spread out on her soft pillow.

She was deeply immersed in her sleep, the result of a long day working at the hospital, and multiple training sessions.

It was then that a single owl's hoot broke the serene silence of the night- and it seemed as though Sakura's peaceful sleep was disturbed along with it. Of course it was the vivid images she now saw that caused her to stir, and not the owl. Her tranquil sleep was clearly disrupted- causing her smooth sleepy expression to become rippled with raw emotion.

Her body also began to react as she squirmed away from an unseen danger, thrashing her pink head from side to side. Next she tried to warn others lest the sinister evils she saw should spill out of her dream world into the real one. She moaned undecipherable words, followed by fearful screams. And then her small frame jolted awake; her slender chest heaving.

She should have begun to relax then, sitting up in her own bed. She should have only needed to survey her innocent surroundings to conclude that she had dreamt the horrors she had witnessed, meaning that she was now safe. But that was not what she did; instead her wide eyes remained fixed onto a targeted spot on the wall, or more specifically, beyond the wall.

These eyes made no attempt to conceal the terror that she was experiencing; her messy hair and the sweat that clung to her body served only to justify the horrified look in her eyes. She was frantically clutching her head with both hands, as if to contain the horrors within, as if to deter them.

As she could no longer scream, she simply swayed in muted pain. Tears spilled from her terrified green eyes as her haggard breathing laboured on.

In one jerky movement, she finally forced herself to look away from that menacing spot on the wall. Quickly, she surveyed her room before pulling herself towards the window. Expecting to see the early signs of dawn she was surprised to find the moon still watching over her.

She collapsed from her bed and, forcing herself into the corner between its base and the wall, she pulled her feet to her chest. Her damp, tangled pink hair covered the expression on her face.

"No."

She muttered it to herself, not managing anything else. Her heart ripped with fear and she knew with every breath she drew in, she drew with it her inevitable fate. She could not explain to anyone- no, no one would believe what she now knew. She herself could not rationalize it, even if her mind struggled to do so.

And that was why she did not go warn the others. But even if she had decided to, she knew that her legs would not allow her- her soul will not permit her the needed strength to get up. And though the back of her mind protested, that same subconscious that had been drilled with countless shinobi principles, no one would fault her for remaining there.

No one would blame her for being satisfied with simply chasing the ominous thoughts in her head. No. There was no plan forming there, just endless questions. Ones she could not answer.

And so she waited for the reality that she knew would engulf her very soon.

She waited for her own death.

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** A/N** Thanks to** Litrouke** for editing!


	2. Already Stronger

_**Chapter Two: Already Stronger**_.

The insistent buzzing went unnoticed by the blond haired teenager possibly because of the loud snoring he emitted. Naruto slept on his side with his pillow tucked securely under one arm and the bed's sheets entangled messily around his legs. A few moments later he groaned and bashed the perky clock's head immediately stopping it. He pulled himself up and yawning loudly he outstretched his arms before jumping out of bed.

"Yoush! First a good breakfast and then- early morning training!" He liked those the best, and that was why he had set his alarm clock to an unusually early hour- it was just dawn, the sky still recovering from the dark night.

After washing up in the bathroom he started to make his way to the little kitchen in his apartment, but was prevented from doing so as his feet got caught up in a random article of clothing left on the ground. He cursed as he crashed into the carpeted floor.

He squirmed around trying to free himself, once succeeding he pulled up the responsible clothing to his squinting face. Instantly recognizing it, he smiled unashamedly, and getting up he hung the jacket on the back of a chair.

He would surely tell Hinata that she shouldn't leave her clothes lying around other people's places; maybe he'd even exaggerate his rough morning to watch her as she blushes at his words and mutters quiet apologies.

As Naruto procured the milk carton from the refrigerator he knew that Hinata wasn't the only one to blame for her clothes being there. He blushed thinking about the night before. Eating his breakfast alone he suddenly realized that his girlfriend would have had to make her way home through the winter night without her jacket, worry creased his tanned face- just how cold was it the night before?

He sighed to himself. He probably should have noticed the condition she was in before she left hurriedly. But Naruto was notorious for not noticing Hinata, he mused over the reactions of his friends when he conveyed to them that he had asked the shy Huygga out, he was quite sure that they all used the word 'finally' in their responses.

"_Was it really that obvious?" he recalled asking Sakura once._

"_Yes. That and then some." She had smiled wistfully. "I was worried that even Sai would pick up on it before you did," She added with a deliberate small chuckle._

_But he had noticed the slightly sullen response his teammate had given him. It plunged him into a very awkward position. _

_He struggled for the appropriate words. "Uh... Sakura-chan... There isn't anything that's... well, upsetting you is there?" _

_She had brushed him off then, telling him sincerely that she was truly happy for him, and that he should treat Hinata well or else she'd make sure he was appropriately punished for the mistakes he made. He knew then that her sad smile wasn't at all because of him._

But he wouldn't let his mind dwell over that matter so early in the morning, not that he experienced much trouble blotting out those thoughts, for the images of a certain pink faced girl were still floating around in his mind.

"_What are you doing here, crazy?" she asked him seriously as he made his way through the bedroom window that she had just opened for him. "You're really tempting my father to take his promise to shove a sword into the back of your head seriously."_

_He chuckled at her and then abruptly grasped both her hands in his. "It's just that I missed you." He smiled while saying this- he really meant it too._

_She beamed back at him. "Me too, especially that smile of yours."_

_She always told him that she loved his smile and every time she did he responded in the same way: his smile widened._

"_Besides I have something I wanted to give you," he added, releasing her hands and turning to lean out of the ground-floor window._

"_Really?" _

_He turned around cradling a bouquet of oriental lilies whose petals were a deep pinkish-red, smiling, he handed them carefully over to her. He then touched her face so that he could gently pull her head upwards meeting her mystified eyes with his. _

"_Ino says they represent sweetness." She blushed as he touched his nose with hers. "I think they look like you when you blush." _

_To this she got redder._

He smiled thinking about that night while washing some dishes in the sink. He had, out of courtesy for his frequent house guest, adopted a habit of picking up after himself. Even if Sakura feigned exaggerated shock and teased him about his new habit.

Once he finished with the dishes he began to get dressed. Looking for his forehead protector in order to complete his outfit he frowned upon realizing it wasn't on his nightstand and began to search for it.

He was completely amazed at how he had managed to lose it even though he was being so neat lately. After getting on his knees and looking for it on the ground and beneath the bed he sighed and turned his attention to the stack of drawers that were his dresser.

He rummaged through each drawer fruitlessly before becoming impatient and throwing out all undesired articles that got in his way. His search was abruptly halted when a loud crash was heard from the opposite wall of the small apartment; he turned to survey the damage he had caused.

Besides the numerous clothing now carpeting the floor, what had obviously been his forehead protector had crashed into a kitchen shelf housing a tower of instant ramen cups. He mumbled a little grouchily to himself as he searched through the now distorted plastic cups to come up with the forehead protector. He spotted it protruding from a cup of instant ramen; it had crashed a hole into the cup causing it to spill out its crunchy insides.

He sighed sadly at the wasted ramen before retrieving the forehead protector.

"Huh?" The protector had received a rough scratch over its centre; directly on the emblem of Konoha. Had he thrown it that hard? Realization suddenly washed over him and he got up to carefully wrap Sasuke's forehead protector in a stretch of cloth and then securely replace it in the bottom of a drawer.

This time he could not force away the memories that had scratched their way into his mind, of that battle in the Valley of the End. He remembered clearly the promise he had made to his distressed teammate three years ago; to bring back their friend- he had succeeded in only returning with his discarded forehead protector.

It had been a long time since they had been with Sasuke. And he was completely aware of how some of Konoha's shinobi didn't understand why he and Sakura held on so tightly to one of the village's traitors- such as the newly appointed Hokage, Danzo, who had recently ordered for the capture of Sasuke.

He frowned angrily at this and even began to mutter some curse words at the strict Hokage, who had forbidden him from leaving the village stubbing any of Naruto's plans to warn Sasuke.

The upset look on Naruto's face gradually turned into a determined one. He had to train hard; he could in no way become satisfied because he had managed to defeat Pein. He had a promise to keep; he only needed to think about Sakura to remember how important his promise was.

Even though the kunoichi did a good job of masking her pain whenever Sasuke was brought up- he knew she was still hurt by it all. The way she worked so hard was proof enough to support this; he knew it was her own resolve never to be useless to the team again. He was going to bring Sasuke back, and then he was going to break his ribs for all the pain he had caused the gentle girl to go through.

Determined he yelled to himself, "And I'll do it right!" Then he marched out his apartment's door resolutely. Naruto abruptly backtracked and grumbled to the room, "Where the hell is it?"

Suddenly he knew exactly where it was and shaking his head at himself he went to the bathroom to pick up the forehead protector from the sink's sill. He wrapped it around his head and took a good look at himself in the mirror, as if promising his reflection that he would surely return stronger, then he darted out of his house.

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**A/N:** Thanks **Lutrashinobi** for your lovely editing


	3. Kai

_**Chapter Three: Kai**_

Sasuke surveyed the village that sprawled beneath him, Konoha was a splendid portrait of peace behind which hung a pallid moon. He could clearly make out the stone faces of the brave rulers of times past, the ultimate representation of all of what Konoha stood for: honour, duty and peace. He sneered down at its sleeping inhabitants. He was unaware that the position that he now took on the village's ridge was the same exact one his brother had chosen three years back when intending to sneak into Konoha. Had you informed Sasuke of this; a familiar heavy feeling would have returned to his stomach; that of remorse.

"And you're saying we should just prance in like we own the place?" Suigetsu snapped.

"Shut up you!" Karin reprimanded him, "If Sasuke thinks it'll work. Then it'll work."

Suigetsu smirked at her, "Your absolute belief in him is very comforting." He said sarcastically, then he added to the third member who was under discussion, "you did adapt the plan now that we're down one member, right?"

"Of course he did!" Karin snapped at him from her side.

"I don't recall asking you whether he changed the plan! I'm quite sure the question was-"

Suigetsu's retort was cut short when Sasuke turned to the both of them,

"Be alert."

"Yes, because we shouldn't trouble you by dying on you now should we?" Suigetsu sneered at him.

To this Sasuke said nothing, instead his body plunged down the slope and landed gracefully on the earth beneath, his two companions obediently followed. The team darted under the watchful moon towards the village's centre. Sasuke reminded himself not to fumble simply because he was overconfident. He knew that the village was peaceful, therefore there were no guards patrolling at this hour, they also had the added advantage that Konoha was still unaware of what had happened to its newly appointed Hokage. And so slipping into one of the Village's accommodations, wherein was the Elder's chambers, was done quickly and stealthily by the team of rouge Nin.

As their careful footfalls reverberated in the empty halls, Karin took the lead and guided them only through the hallways which she deemed clear of any unwanted interferences. It would not do to be seen, or noticed, until they reached the Elders, for a run-in with any capable ninja would mean that the whole village would be alerted. And there were priorities that Sasuke had to attend to. Karin could easily guide them through the passageways as she had been made to memorize the directions that Uchiha Madara had given them. Sasuke knew to be wary of the masked ninja, but could see no reason as to why the knowledge he gave them would be misleading. He also could not be sure why Madara would offer to set up interference with Konoha's protective barrier, but Sasuke wasn't going to let pass such a tempting offer.

But these weren't the thoughts that clouded Sasuke's mind as Karin pointed up with her index finger and the team took to the ceiling by gathering chakra at their feet that in effect stuck them to the wall; and as he promptly dispelled a genjutsu that concealed their appearance. There weren't many thoughts that drifted through his alert mind at this current moment, or many emotions, save for the distinct taste of determination that set his jaw in a rigid line. He could foresee his immediate future, there would be no scope for failure, and for a moment he ravished in the fulfilling sensation that came to him when he imagined plunging his katana into the Elders' brittle bodies. They would be made to pay, by his own two hands, for their crimes towards his clan, his family. It must have been twisted fate that led Sasuke to the position he was in now; still adorning that title of avenger- though now he was, undoubtedly, Uchiha Itachi's avenger.

They waited till the sleepy ninja who had been their obstruction cleared the passage before dropping from the ceiling and continuing on ahead. They were close to the chambers now, for Karin had fallen back, signalling that they had a hindrance free, straight path ahead of them. Once Sasuke reached to their destination he paused outside the doors that would lead him to the sleeping Elders.

"How many people do you sense in there?" he asked Karin who replied shortly,

"Four, they're apart, seems as though there are two guarding ninjas located not too far from these main doors."

"Alright then, follow, but be rid of them quickly and quietly." Sasuke told his teammates then proceeded to open the doors.

And just as Karin had warned soon they found themselves facing two of Konoha's ninjas.

"Hey!" One of the shinobi yelled roughly at them, "what the hell do you-"

He was cut short by his teammate who, gasping in sudden realization, gestured towards Sasuke. "He's that Uchiha- don't look into his eyes!"

"Don't you be worrying about him... when you have me to deal with!" Suigetsu snapped irritably, and with that he charged at the ninja wielding his unnaturally large sword.

In the commotion of the battle that ensued Sasuke slipped by the two guarding ninja to the rooms that Karin had just pointed out to him. He was pleased at how smoothly things were going, satisfied that he would be able to fully enjoy what was to come. He could feel his hands ache in anticipation as he pushed through the doors that would lead him to the two individuals who had, with their sickening plans for Konoha, destroyed his world. His red eyes were easily able to penetrate the feeble darkness that attempted to shroud the room before him.

"I told you he was coming." She said to her companion.

"Ah. Youth are predictable." He added.

Sasuke's eyes narrowed, "So you were expecting me?" He could sense no other presence but theirs.

"For a while now, yes." Koharu, the female adviser, replied, "This must mean that poor Danzo has met his end."

"Ah." Sasuke answered simply.

At that moment, the elders' eyes widened as the scene before them melted and then promptly reformed into an entirely different one. Sasuke knew that they had willingly fallen into his genjutsu because they would be incapable of truly fighting him while averting his gaze. They had gambled that once they escaped what he would put them through, they would be able to fight him in true combat. He smirked at this; did they not know that they had gambled with their lives?

Koharu gasped at the images before her. It was as if the sun had been blotched out by thick clouds of crimson red, saved from witnessing the horror scattered beneath it; the sight of an entire clan's worth of rigid corpses. An elderly man with a kunai protruding from his chest; what must be his wife's body sprawled close to him, the shurikens that were embedded in her back caught the light of the moon and shone in the night. As Koharu was slowly retreating, looking for a place to escape to, she only saw more of the death around her. A small child still holding on a bag of candies was propped up against a wall, blood trickling down his gaping mouth. A young man was lying on his stomach, his face unnaturally angled towards her- his eyes silently accusing her.

"Stop it!" there was death everywhere she looked, "Stop it you sick man!"

She soon heard the faint sobs of a small child and was compelled to approach it. She found Homura by the boy's side, examining him. The child drew in his small breaths with difficulty, his body trembling uncontrollably, his eyes fixed on the ground beneath him.

"They're all dead." he managed between sobs.

"Dead." He confirmed needlessly; as though they couldn't see the corpses that surrounded them, as though the stench that the dead bodies emitted hadn't managed to seep into their souls.

"I couldn't save any-" The boys words were snatched away from him as he suddenly gasped, noticing for the first time, who he was talking to. He abruptly pulled away from them, holding up one shaky finger and pointing it at them.

"Y-you... It was... you killed..." The elders followed the boys shocked gaze and stared, stunned, at their hands. Closely examining them they noticed the sticky blood that had appeared of its own accord.

"It... You don't understand!" Homura snapped impatiently at the child.

"We had to." Koharu explained gently.

"You had to?" he yelled at them, "What's that even mean?"

"You can't understand."

"You killed them all. You did. For nothing, for nothing."

"For peace! You stupid child! For Konoha!" Homura was yelling now.

Koharu stood their quietly. So Homura continued, "Why am I even arguing with you here? This is just a genjutsu. That's all."

"No its not!" The boy spat, "you can't escape what you've done!"

Homura replied simply, "you think any of this will deter me? You think I feel guilt for what I've done? What I had to do?"

He began to concentrate; he had to break out soon. "Kai!"

"Kai!" The boy bellowed. "What about me? What about what you did to me?" the child screeched in his ears.

Homura tried to break the spell once more, concentrating harder this time.

"Kai!" He screamed; ignoring the child's traumatized pleading resonating in his ears.

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**A/N:**Thanks **Lutrashinobi** for editing!


	4. Day Break

_Chapter Four: Day Break_

Homura, now panting, was relieved to find himself seated on a bed in his chambers. He quickly touched Koharu to release her from the genjutsu as she apparently hadn't been able to do so herself. The boy that was now facing him was much older, and fairly composed, his lips curled upwards in a cruel smile and his crimson eyes remained fixed on him.

"There they are. The eyes of the devil. How foolish was I to imagine that I'd never see them again?" Homura managed.

"I promise you this will be your last time."

Koharu had heard Sasuke's vow, but she found that she could not concentrate on the battle unfolding before her. She could barely look up as the two men charged at each other. She hardly flinched as a loud blast and the following crash echoed in her ear from not too far away. She knew what she _should _do. She should be alert in order to survive, so that she could be of help to her partner. They should hinder the troubled boy as much as possible while calling for reinforcements. They should do whatever they could for Konoha. Wasn't this, like everything else they've done, justifiable because they had the best interests for the population at heart? Why then, wasn't she able to secure this plan that they had worked out so long ago?

Only when she saw his determined face appear before her once more did she finally know exactly what had to be done.

"I suppose this means that it is now my turn?" she tried to ask him this gently, but her coarse voice had long since lost the smoothness of youth.

He had no reply.

"No questions?"

To this he stepped closer towards her, she would not pull away from him.

"Quite a few. But do you have any answers?"

"That I'm willing to share?"

"Hn" He was leaning on his katana, but she knew that this did not mean he had his guard down.

"You must want to know, quite desperately, why we took such harsh action? That is to say, what made us make that fatal decision we made."

The look in her eyes was quite distant, but Sasuke assumed that all elders shared that look, as though they were always remembering the past they had once lived.

She continued softly, "That your clan was a troublesome matter was no secret to anyone in charge in Konoha. It was a series of individual incidents that had charged the village's peaceful air with the electric notions of rebellion. We were quite fearful that a civil war was upon us. It wasn't simply the fear that we would be overthrown, though I must say some worried about that issue more than others, but can you imagine what an internal war would bring about? How would we be able to keep that a secret from enemy villages? How would we defend ourselves should we be attacked? How many lives would be lost?" She ventured one look towards him only to discover it was meaningless to do so, the boy conveyed no emotions.

"We were all left scrambling to fix the upset, we were willing to do anything- such were the Hokage's orders. I'll tell you this now, as far as what was suggested, no one ever considered a- a genocide! We tried to patch up the shaky bonds, we were even hopeful that we had managed to succeed. So it was a single, independent event that occurred shortly afterward which led us to believe that we truly had no other option."

Koharu had to admit that, had she been younger, the look the boy now gave her would have left her anxious and quite upset.

"What event?" he asked coldly.

She had already made her decision and with a short, hesitant intake of breath, she continued on, "It was a prophecy, or should I say- a vision."

"A vision?"

"Some ninja are gifted in such a way, surely you've heard of-"

"I know what visions are, and the speculations that concern them," he replied irritably, "what kind of vision?" he stressed every word.

"The vision was quite vivid, it was reoccurring, there was no doubt of its accuracy-"

"What was it of?" he snapped at her.

"It was of the elimination of Konoha," She paused slightly to look into his crimson eyes. "By a member of the Uchiha clan."

Sasuke scrutinized the look Koharu gave him while watching out for any intruders that might appear in his peripheral vision. He had been wary that this conversation was just a ploy to slow him down. He noticed the blood pounding in his ears, and faintly in the distance, the chirping birds awaiting the break of dawn. The question lingered on his lips for a single moment. He considered, for another, if she'd answer him truthfully.

"Whose vision?" He wondered if she could, just as Madara had, change the course of his life with a few simple words.

She paused then; there must have been something she was worried about. She answered him nevertheless. "A little girl." Her simple answer was followed by a longer pause. Sasuke deliberated if Koharu's old mind was having trouble conjuring up the details.

"She's around your age actually."

Little girl's faces darted across Sasuke's mind and he willed the thoughts to slow down so that he could pick the most appropriate candidate.

"You know her quite well."

Sasuke's eyes widened at what he was told. His mind had brought up the required image- and with it quite a few useless details. His stomach churned. A golden glow spilled over Koharu's wrinkled face, amplifying the slashes that marked many years of struggles. Desperately hoping she had done the right thing Koharu turned to watch the sun's orange rays gradually break through the late night's thickest cloak.

**A/N: **Let me know what you think! Where the writing triumphs and where it fails, and most importantly, if you'd be interested in reading what's to come.

**Lutrashinobi** as Betareader


	5. The Depth of the Forest

_**Chapter Five: The Depth of the Forest**_

Sakura found herself aimlessly walking through a thicket of forest, she had first began her wanderings when the moon was still casting black shadows, but the sun had soon since came through illuminating the darkness around her. When she first sensed it was so close to morning she had hurried her pace as though she was running out of time, which _was_ true, but soon she realized she had nothing to rush to do. There was no mission deadline to meet, no companion to run to his aid, no boss's errand to hurriedly finish. No one was expecting anything of her, she had been rendered useless once more.

She found the one fallen tree-hollow to rest against and wondered about the heights its green leaves had once known. She twisted her body to face the sky and cursed at how quickly the darkness faded. Couldn't the sun stop its relentless track for just one day?

Sakura clearly heard the blasts that shook the many birds out of their trees, emitting from her beloved village. She knew what she would be doing right now if she were among her friends, she could imagine the fear that would startle them all awake. She knew that they'd be nervously getting ready, darting out of their homes, looking for explanations- awaiting orders. She knew that she couldn't join them, that she had to face what was to come all on her own if there was to be even the slightest chance she could end it all.

It was once she reached that exact spot that she knew to wait, somehow she knew the place quite well, a kind of a vague dream that had finally come to actualization. The depth of this paradise forest was pounding with life, the birds fluttered and swooped, the trees rustled and creaked, the insects hummed to a silent beat and at some distance a river or a creek spluttered white foams of fresh water.

She knew that every path she had ever chosen could only have ended here, at this exact spot, where at the far edge of her vision she saw the striking orange of a flower bush determined to spot the thick green with its vibrancy. She also found that one gap that the trees hadn't quite managed to block, that one tear in the collection of events that was her young life, the one she could not mend. The one failure that had ensured she would be brought to this exact spot in the depth of the forest where, in her peripheral vision, the red flowers spoiled the green of the trees.

'Somehow I knew you would come, must be something I always knew.'

'Gets you into a lot of trouble doesn't it? That big forehead of yours.'

'None of this is necessary.'

She felt as though the ground had simply given up on supporting her, as though she was falling at full speed and suspended in air all at once. Her mind spun with images; foreign and innate ones were intricately sewn together so that she could no longer decipher the two. In her core she felt a fear that gripped her so tightly she was certain she'd collapse into herself or else burst into a fiery rebellion.

It was then that she felt him and was free, but when she saw him she finally realized that she'd never really seen him before. Sasuke's eyes burned red into hers.

"I'll be the judge of that."

He spoke in a bitterness she wasn't familiar with, or maybe it was always hiding just beneath the velvety surface of his voice.

She suddenly saw herself being thrown into that flower bush, and bracing to soften her fall she realized that he hadn't yet even pulled the arm he was grasping and knew to pull away before he did.

Suddenly a splendid plan formulated in her mind and allowing herself to be lifted into a sensation of hope; she darted through the forest with him fast on her heels. She knew to divert to her right before he even began his attack on her left, and she knew just when to duck and just when to jump, and so in an erratic dance along the green tree tops the both of them made their way to Konoha.

"Face me! Face what you've done!" His screaming was the most unusual thing she'd heard; a bursting of anger that in its attempts to conceal his raw pain only succeeded in amplifying it.

She made the mistake of sparing a glance (would he allow her to see his pain?), it had always been her sick desire and now she was warped into it and stunned in place.

She finally felt what it was like to be Uchiha Sasuke; to feel utterly abandoned.

An anger that was lying dormant in her veins exploded: 'You selfish boy! You blind idiot! Is this it? Is this all?' He had tied her body into place but could not contain her mind.

'Does it mean nothing at all to you that we offered?'

"Me and Naruto, we _offered_ to fill your void-" Her body could move once more but she didn't allow herself to pull away from his glare.

"You destroyed my clan! Your useless friendship won't fix that!"

Laughter forced its way through her, she was just as shocked as he looked about it, and while still under his piercing gaze, she finally managed to contain herself.

"So you think, no wait, because of some dream I had when I was four it was all my fault?"

His glare did not waver, but then that was just the way he was.

"You have to realize that you've lost your mind! Your logic is twisted- you're insane!"

"There is no sense or 'logic' in this world," was his simple reply.

"Oh? So you're what? What you're doing now is just what? You riding the course of your emotions blindly without reason?"

He said nothing and this enraged her.

"You're addicted to it- your need for revenge!"

"You can't make sense of any of it!" He repeated.

"No! I can! I can see and I understand things you could never grasp! I always could Sasuke; it's only you who can make no sense of it."

"Fine then, you can take your lovely knowledge with you-"

She didn't move; his form was now only inches away from hers, his katana held rigidly between the both of their bodies. She refused to pull away her gaze from his crimson glare. The cool metal bore sharp into her neck's soft skin, but she would not flinch.

Sakura attempted to ignore the thumping pulse in her ear that bade her to fight on (or else run). There was just one last thing, the words slipped out of her when they came and she did not try to contain them.

"You see, Sasuke-kun, I remembered just this night my one fatal prophecy as a child."

It was unusual that raw, eager life would glimmer in his dead eyes. Her body tensed as the heat in her chest uncoiled and spread to her face in response to him.

"It was, as Koharu explained to you-" she struggled to continue, "of the inhalation of Konoha by an Uchiha." She had his full attention now, he spilled it over her and she thought she'd drown in it. She had to scold herself for enjoying it.

"But when I was four I hardly recognized the exact member- even though they did try to probe it out of me."

She searched the eyes she thought she knew so well for any inclination-

"Anyways, there's no mistaking what I now know- Sasuke, you see-" The words themselves had ripped through her like foreign shrapnel coursing through her veins, but she delivered them to him like she would a punch- revelling in the notion of finally causing him some pain, and hurting alongside him as well.

"It was you. It was of you."


End file.
